Congress Fields Party Defector Sanjay Bhoi (centre) From Odisha’s Bargarh (image-Facebook/Sanjay Bhoi)
The Congress has nominated former MP Sanjay Bhoi, who represented the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat in 2009, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Bhoi will face Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Parineeta Mishra, wife of former BJP Bargarh district vice president Sushanta Mishra, whose candidature has led to a section of BJD workers feeling resentful. BJP candidate Pradeep Purohit is also in the race for the seat.
By fielding Bhoi, a member of the Kulta community, Congress is eyeing votes from the backward caste. Notably, he is also the son of Krupasindhu Bhoi, a four-time MP from Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency who was also elected twice from the Padampur assembly segment in Bargarh.
In 2022, ahead of the Padampur by polls, Bhoi had switched parties by joining the BJP. The software engineer-turned politician stated that after finding himself underutilised in the Congress, “BJP became the natural choice given the party’s performance in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” quoted Times of India.
The main challenge for Congress is to revive its voter base, which has shifted to the BJD and the BJP over the last twenty years. Securing the seat while tackling the strong local support generated by the two opposing parties will be a challenging feat for the Congress candidate. The discontentment from the announcement of the BJP and the BJD candidates, however, could work in the favour of Congress.
One of the 15 Naxal-affected regions in Odisha, the Bargarh Lok Sabha constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas including Padampur, Bijepur, Bhatli, Bargarh, Attabira (SC), Brajarajnagar, and Jharsuguda. Although all seven of the assembly segments are represented by the BJD, the Lok Sabha seat was bagged by BJP candidate Suresh Pujari, defeating BJD stalwart Prasanna Acharya by a significant margin of 64,000 votes.
Since coming into existence in 2008, the constituency has seen Congress, the BJD, and the BJP represent it in each of the general elections.
In terms of the population demographic in the region, the SC comprise 19.61 percent, STs are 22.29 percent, Muslims 2.4 percent, and Christians comprising 1.09 percent.
